Pipitea Pā

Pipitea Pā

Pipitea Pā, a Te Āti Awa settlement, was located on the western shore of Wellington Harbour. This 1841 drawing shows a section of the pā with dwelling houses and a food storehouse. Pipitea Stream can be seen in the foreground, flowing into the harbour. The pa and the stream derived their name from the large pipi bed on the foreshore.

Te Āti Awa was a Taranaki tribe. In the 1820s sections of Te Āti Awa began migrating down the North Island in response to attacks from Ngapuhi and Waikato. Over the course of a series of historic battles they moved to the Kapiti Coast and then to Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington harbour).

In 1835 Ngāti Mutunga, earlier migrants from Taranaki, transferred their rights to land around the harbour to Te Āti Awa at a gathering on Matiu (Somes Island) before migrating to Wharekauri (the Chatham Islands). These lands included Pipitea Pā, with its cultivations and other resources.

In 1840 close to 150 members of Te Matehou (a hapu, or sub-group, of Te Āti Awa) were living at Pipitea. Te Ropiha Moturoa, Wi Kingi Wairarapa, Te Mangatuku and Te Rira Porutu, were among the leading chiefs at the pā.  The outlying kainga (settlements) Tiakiwai, Pakuao and Raurimu were also occupied by small groups of families. The kainga were part of a network around the harbour and in the Heretaunga (Hutt Valley). Te Āti Awa continued to move between Taranaki and Te Whanganui-a-Tara and many members of the iwi held lands in both areas.

An 1850 government survey of Pipitea Pā shows a prosperous settlement. It recorded a chapel and 17 dwellings, 5 of which were weatherboard houses. Twenty acres of land were under cultivation and 42 of the 93 residents were literate. Among the possessions recorded were 14 horses and 5 waka taua (war canoes).

By 1880 Te Āti Awa, although retaining rights and interests in the area, had been forced out of Thorndon: only nine people were recorded as resident at the Pipitea kainga, and Pakuao and Tiakiwai had ceased to exist. Although as part of its scheme the New Zealand Company had set aside reserves (one tenth of the land purchased) for Māori, these were determined to the settlers' advantage, and Māori were excluded from the extensive areas needed for cultivation and obtaining food and materials.

You can read more about the history of Te Āti Awa on Te Ara, the online Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

Te Āti Awa entry – Te Ara website

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

Find Out More